Apoptosis is the most common form of physiologic cell death and a necessary
process to maintain cell numbers in multicellular organisms. In many chron
ic inflammatory diseases, reduced cell death of different types of granuloc
ytes is one important mechanism for cell accumulation. Granulocytes are con
stantly produced in large amounts in the bone marrow and the same numbers d
ie, under normal circumstances, within a defined time period. Changing the
rate of apoptosis rapidly changes cell numbers in such systems. Overexpress
ion of IL-5 appears to be crucial for delaying eosinophil apoptosis in many
allergic disorders, whereas overexpression of GM-CSF and G-CSF is associat
ed with suppression of neutrophil apoptosis in bacterial and non-bacterial
inflammations. Cytokine withdrawal leads to the induction of apoptosis both
in vitro and in vivo. In contrast to the role of survival cytokines, littl
e is known about the role of death factors and their receptors in thr regul
ation of granulocyte apoptosis. Recent observations suggest a role for mito
chondria in both eosinophil and neutrophil apoptosis, although the mechanis
ms that trigger mitochondria to release pro-apoptotic factors remain to be
determined. Besides similarities, there are differences in the regulation o
f apoptosis between these granulocyte subtypes that include both expression
and function of Bcl-2 and caspase family members. The identification of di
fferences in the apoptosis regulation may help to define new molecular targ
ets that allow specific induction of either eosinophil or neutrophil apopto
sis by pharmacological means.